Verse 2.31

svadharmamapi cāvekṣya na vikampitumarhasi |
dharmyāddhi yuddhācchreyo'nyatkṣatriyasya na vidyate ||31||

The Subodhinī commentary by Śrīdhara

yaccoktamarjunena vepathuśca śarīre me ityādi tadapyayuktamityāha svadharmamapīti | ātmano nāśābhāvādeva etesāṃ hanane'pi vikampituṃ nārhasi | kiṃ ca svadharmamapyavekṣya vikampituṃ nārhasi iti sambandhaḥ | yaccoktaṃ na ca śreyo'nupaśyāmi hatvā svajanamāhava iti tatrāha dharmyāditi | dharmādanapetānnyāyādyuddhādanyat ||31||

The Gūḍhārthadīpikā commentary by Madhusūdana

tadevaṃ sthūlasūkṣmaśarīradvayatatkāraṇāvidyākhyopādhitrayāvivekena mithyābhūtasyāpi saṃsārasya satyatvātmadharmatvādipratibhāsarūpaṃ sarvaprāṇisādhāraṇamarjunasya bhramaṃ nirākartumupādhitrayavivekenātmasvarūpamabhihitavān | samprati yuddhākhye svadharme hiṃsādibāhulyenādharmatvapratibhāsarūpamarjunasyaiva karuṇādidoṣanibandhanamasādhāraṇaṃ bhramaṃ nirākartuṃ hiṃsādimattve'pi yuddhasya svadharmatvenādharmatvābhāvaṃ bodhayati bhagavān svadharmamapīti |

na kevalaṃ paramārthatattvamevāvekṣya kiṃ tu svadharmamapi kṣatriyadharmamapi yuddhāparāṅmukhatvarūpamavekṣya śāstrataḥ paryālocya vikampituṃ vicalituṃ dharmādadharmatvabhrāntyā nivartituṃ nārhasi | tatraivaṃ sati yadyapyete na paśyanti ityādinā narake niyataṃ vāso bhavati ityantena yuddhasya pāpahetutvaṃ tvayā yaduktaṃ kathaṃ bhīṣmamahaṃ saṅkhye ityādinā ca guruvadhabrahmavadhādyakaraṇaṃ yadabhihitaṃ tatsarvaṃ dharmaśāstraparyālocanādevoktam | kasmāt? hi yasmāddharmyādaparāṅmukhatvadharmādanapetādyuddhādanyatkṣatriyasya śreyaḥ śreyaḥsādhanaṃ
na vidyate | yuddhameva hi pṛthivījayadvāreṇa prajārakṣaṇabrāhmaṇaśuśrūṣādikṣātradharmanirvāhakamiti tadeva kṣatriyasya praśastataramityabhiprāyaḥ | tathā coktaṃ parāśareṇa

kṣatriyo hi prajā rakṣan śastrapāṇiḥ pradaṇḍayan |
nirjitya parasainyādi kṣitiṃ dharmeṇa pālayet || [Parāśara-smṛti 1.58] iti ||31||

manunāpi

samottamādhamai rājā tvāhūtaḥ pālayan prajāḥ |
na nivarteta saṃgrāmātkṣātraṃ dharmamanusmaran ||
saṃgrāmeṣvanivartitvaṃ prajānāṃ caiva pālanam |
śuśrūṣā brāhmaṇānāṃ ca rājñāṃ śreyaskaraṃ param || [Manu 7.88-9] ityādinā |

rājaśabdaśca kṣatriyajātimātravācīti sthitameveṣṭhyadhikaraṇe | tena bhūmipālasyaivāyaṃ dharma iti na bhramitavyam | udāhṛtavacane'pi kṣatriyo hīti kṣāttraṃ dharmamiti ca spaṣṭaṃ liṅgam | tasmātkṣatriyasya yuddhaṃ praśasto dharma iti sādhu bhagavato'bhihitam | apaśavo'nye goaśvebhyaḥ paśavo goaśvāḥ itivatpraśaṃsālakṣaṇayā yuddhādanyacchreyaḥsādhanaṃ na vidyata ityuktamiti na doṣaḥ | etena yuddhātpraśastataraṃ kiṃcidanuṣṭhātuṃ tato nivṛttiruciteti nirastam | na ca śreyo'nupaśyāmi hatvā svajanamāhave ityetadapi ||31||

The Sārārthavarṣiṇī commentary by Viśvanātha

ātmano nāśābhāvādeva vadhādvikampituṃ bhetuṃ nārhasi | svadharmamapi cāvekṣya na vikampitumarhasīti sambandhaḥ ||31||

The Gītābhūṣaṇa commentary by Baladeva

evaṃ paramātmajñānopayogitvādādau jīvātmajñānaṃ sarvān prati taulyenopadiśya saniṣṭhān prati niṣkāmatayānuṣṭhitāni karmāṇi hṛdviśuddhisahakṛtāmātmajñānaniṣṭhāṃ niṣpādayantīti vadiṣyan tasyāṃ pratītimutpādayituṃ sakāmatayānuṣṭhitānāṃ karmaṇāṃ kāmyaphalapradatvamāha dvābhyāṃ svadharmamapīti |

yuddhaṃ khalu kṣatriyasya nityatamagnihotrādivadvihitam | tacca śatruprāṇavihaṃsanarūpamagniṣṭomādipaśuhiṃsanavanna pratyavāyanimittam | ubhayatra hiṃseyamupakṛtirūpaiva | hīnayordehalokayostyāgena divyayostayorlobhāt | āha caivaṃ smṛtiḥ

āhaveṣu mitho'nyonyaṃ jighāṃsanto mahīkṣitaḥ |
yudhyamānāḥ paraṃ śaktyā svargaṃ yāntyaparāṅmukhāḥ || [Manu 7.90]
yajñeṣu paśavo brahman hanyante satataṃ dvijaiḥ |
saṃskṛtāḥ kila mantraiśca te'pi svargamavāpnuvan || [?] ityādyā |

evaṃ nijadharmamavekṣya vikampituṃ dharmātpracalituṃ nārhasi | yuktaṃ na ca śreyo'nupaśyāmītyādinā narake nityataṃ vāso bhavatīytantyena yuddhasya pāpahetutvaṃ tvayoktam | taccājñānādevetyāha dharmyāditi | yuddhameva bhūmijayadvārā prajāpālanaguruviprasaṃsevanādikṣātradharmanirvāhīti | evamāha bhagavān parāśaraḥ

kṣatriyo hi prajā rakṣan śastrapāṇiḥ pradaṇḍayan |
nirjitya parasainyādi kṣitiṃ dharmeṇa pālayet || [Parāśara-smṛti 1.58] iti ||31||

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